Govt. fully supportive of digitalisation to drive financial inclusivity in SL: Eran

By Charumini de Silva

State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne said he is fully supportive of the digitalisation and the use of new technologies which promote and enhance the efficiency of the common payment infrastructure to drive financial inclusivity in Sri Lanka.

Addressing the second edition of the LankaPay Technnovation Awards 2018, organised by LankaClear Ltd., he stressed on the importance of sharing the benefits of innovative electronic payment products throughout the country, emphasising on the importance of creating awareness among the general public.

“It is not really funny when you are not exposed to technology. The majority of the payment products are used by consumers in urban areas. These electronic payments must also reach the rural and estate areas and every segment of the country,” he added.   

Being at the award ceremony the State Minister said he learnt many new innovative payment methods that had been introduced to the market to improve efficiency of payment mechanisms. 

“I learnt about digital begging and I also learnt that it is making life easy for lawyers, doctors and tuition masters to receive their payments very quickly with all these different payment systems. I fully support it and it also records every payment, therefore the country is benefitting,” he pointed out.

The State Minister also stressed that Sri Lanka should capitalise on its location to reach out to the growing Asian market.

“We have heard a lot about digitalisation, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and many things that are going on in the world around us. Remember that Sri Lanka has one God-given gift and that is our location. We are in the southernmost part of the Indian Ocean —the busiest sea route in the world. It is our location that gives us an advantage to the world’s largest and fastest growing market. Today, 65% of world’s growth is coming from Asia and 65% of digitalisation, innovation and new payment systems are also coming from Asia. This is one of the advantages we need to capitalise on,” he said.

Acknowledging that many industries were lamenting on issues that were really not major concerns, he called on businesses, particularly the financial industry, to consider more innovative approaches in problem solving. “To resolve one problem, we cannot create another problem. Therefore we have to be more innovative in our problem solving,” the State Minster said.

Recalling his memories of working in the private sector, Wickramaratne recalled how challenging it was 15 years ago to get approval from the Central Bank for ‘EzyPay’ and how everything at bureaucratic level had now changed within a short span of time, making life easy for the business community. 

“It took forever, Governor, for us to get approval from the Central Bank for EzyPay. But I hear that LankaClear is now congratulating the Central Bank for so many things that have been done in a very short time. This reflects how quickly things have changed in a short span of time,” he quipped.